Rosalía / Sony Music

Catalan lyrics localization

Sony Music needed Catalan versions of lyrics from a Rosalía album project. The brief required more than a direct translation: the language had to remain faithful to the original meaning while preserving the artist’s voice, rhythm, attitude and cultural texture.

The main challenge was balance. Lyrics are highly compressed pieces of identity: a literal translation can be accurate and still sound dead. At the same time, the client needed the Catalan version to stay close to the source whenever possible, avoiding unnecessary over-adaptation.

My role was to transcreate and review the Catalan lyrics line by line, checking meaning, register, idiom, emotional tone and cultural fit. The work required sensitivity to contemporary language, fan culture and Rosalía’s specific mix of intimacy, attitude and linguistic playfulness, without forcing slang or making the text sound artificially “young”.

The final adaptation combined close translation, cultural consultation and copy-editing to deliver Catalan lyrics that felt natural, current and faithful to the source, protecting both semantic precision and artist voice across languages.

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